Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow

LP auf SUNDAZED RECORDS von JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - Surrealistic Pillow

Not many bands go from an auspicious debut to an even greater second album, but Jefferson Airplane was no ordinary band. Quickly filling the drum position vacated by Skip Spence, they tapped session drummer and jazz specialist Spencer Dryden. For the co-lead vocalist position left open by Signe Anderson's departure, they looked no further than the Great Society vocalist Grace Slick. Convinced to join Jefferson Airplane by bassist Jack Casady, Slick signed on and the band bought out her contract with the Great Society for $750. With the new lineup complete, they began work on Surrealistic Pillow.

In addition to her strong vocal skills and model-ready looks, Grace Slick also brought with her two songs which would be recorded for the new album and would help break the band on an international scale. 'Somebody to Love,' written by her then brother-in-law Darby Slick, had already been released on a single to little fanfare by the Great Society, from a session produced by Sylvester 'Sly Stone' Stewart. 'White Rabbit,' an interpretation of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland,' was Grace's own composition. And boy, if RCA was nervous over lyrics on the band's first album, they must've been positively apoplectic when they heard 'White Rabbit'! (For more, see the entry for Jefferson Airplane Takes Off.) Nevertheless, the song was released as a single, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The other Slick-associated song, 'Somebody to Love,' fared even better, reaching #5. Sales of these two chart-topping singles not only drove Surrealistic Pillow sales through the roof, they also tipped the balance of power away from band founder Marty Balin to Slick. It was a one-two punch from which Balin never fully recovered.

The album's heady mix of folk rock and psychedelia had a much harder edge than the band's debut. Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen's stinging leads and Slick's tough, assured vocals marked a major move forward. Lead track 'She Has Funny Cars' updated the Bo Diddley beat for a new generation while album closer 'Plastic Fantastic Lover' is a multi-color swirl, driven by Kaukonen and Casady's swooping bass lines. In between, the album's quality control never lags. With all but two selections written by the band, it is also a stellar showcase of their songwriting abilities that, as previously noted, had been significantly strengthened by Slick's arrival.

Initially released in mono and stereo versions, the mono edition quickly went out of print due to the period's preference for stereo. Collectors fortunate enough to obtain a mono copy noted that the mix was much more powerful and clearer than the stereo mix, with much less echo and reverb. Consequently, the mono version became a much-desired collectable. After a decades long absence, Sundazed makes the prized mono version of Surrealistic Pillow available again. Mastered from the original analog RCA session tapes and packaged in a vibrant recreation of the LP jacket artwork, this seminal album awaits its debut on your turntable!m

Songs

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow Medium 1

1:

She Has Funny Cars

2:

Somebody To Love

3:

My Best Friend

4:

Today

5:

Comin' Back To Me

6:

3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds

7:

D.C.B.A.-25

8:

How Do You Feel

9:

Embryonic Journey

10:

White Rabbit

11:

Plastic Fantastic Lover

Artikeleigenschaften von Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow

Interpret: Jefferson Airplane

Albumtitel: Surrealistic Pillow

Artikelart
LP

Genre
Rock 'n' Roll

Music Genre
Rock 'n' Roll

Music Style
Vinyl - Beat / Rock / 60s / 70s

Music Sub-Genre
557 Vinyl - Beat/Rock/60s/70s

Edition 2
BEAR Family Records

Plattengröße
LP (12 Inch)

Vinyl weight
180g Vinyl

Geschwindigkeit
33 U/min

Record Grading
Mint (M)

Sleeve Grading
Mint (M)

Label
SUNDAZED

Preiscode
VLP2

SubGenre
Beat 60s-70s

EAN: 0090771513519

Gewicht in Kg: 0.200

Interpreten-Beschreibung "Jefferson Airplane"

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane became synonymous with the 'San Francisco Sound' in 1967 when both 'Somebody To Love' and 'White Rabbit' were Top Ten hits on RCA. Although the critical consensus is that the Airplane reached their peak in 1970, they remain, with the Grateful Dead, the most long-lasting and prolific of the groups to emerge from Haight-Ashbury in the late Sixties. Formed on the initiative of singer Marty Balin, who had recorded solo sides for Challenge in the early Sixties, the group was born out of a bunch of ex-folk musicians, who began playing folk-rock at the Matrix in the summer of 1965.

One of the earliest San Francisco bands to establish themselves at the centre of the growing local culture, they were the first to secure a recording con-tract. The advance paid by RCA was said to be $25,000, and by the time the first album (Jefferson Airplane Takes Off) was recorded the following winter, the group was fully electric. Although it was, in parts, derivative of the Beatles and the Lovin' Spoonful, the record showed how innovative the Jefferson Airplane were to be. From the beginning they saw their music as a means of breaking down established tradi-tions and mores : hence the unabashed way they celebrated the drug culture, as early as 1965. Following the release of Takes Off, singer Signe Anderson left to be replaced by Grace Slick from the Great Society, another San Francisco group. Drummer Skip Spence also departed, to form Moby Grape.

The remaining personnel remained together for the next four years. They were Jorma Kaukonen, lead guitar (born Dec. 23, 1940), Jack Casady, bass (April 4, 1944), Paul Kantner, guitar and vocals (March 3, 1941); Marty Balin, vocals (Jan. 30, 1943), Grace Slick, vocals (Oct. 10, 1939) and Spencer Dryden, drums (April 7, 1938). They were a co-operative, multi-media band, with posters, album-sleeves, dance promotion and Glenn McKay's Headlights light show all integral parts of their activity. The late Sixties also saw them at a creative zenith as a recording group with Surrealis-tic Pillow (1967), After Bathing At Baxters and Crown Of Creation (1968), the live Bless its Little Pointed Head and the politically oriented Volunteers (1969).

Grace Slick was an important addition to the band. She strengthened its visual and musical identity (through her harmonies with Balin). And she was the composer of the Airplane's two hit singles, 'White Rabbit' and 'Somebody To Love'. Equally important was the group's electronic experimentation, in the extended instrumental passages of songs like '3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds' and 'The Ballad Of You, Me And Pooneil'.